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Creamy Beet Borscht

Borscht is a vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that is now enjoyed throughout the world. Any variety of vegetables can be used, but beets are essential. My friend Mike has been requesting a homemade borscht soup for a long time now. It was an especially good time to fulfill his wish as beets are currently in season and also one of my current favorites. I've come across a few recipes that I liked but this creamy beet borscht modified from James McNair's Soups seemed to have the perfect balance of flavors. It turned out to be a success. I served it hot, but it can also be chilled and served cold if desired.

For best results, make the soup the day before and add bits of chopped mushrooms to the pot just before reheating it at a low temperature.

In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and vinegar and cook until most of the vinegar evaporates, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped vegetables, bay leaves, stock or water and half of the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. Add more stock or water as desired. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove the soup from the stove, stir in the remaining lemon juice, and let cool for 5 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, combine the sour cream with most the chopped dill, reserving a little dill for garnish, and set aside.

Once the soup has cooled down a bit, purée with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor or countertop blender until smooth. Return the soup to the stove and gently heat over low heat. Season with salt and black pepper and serve warm or chilled in bowls with a dollop of the sour cream and dill mixture. Garnish the bowls with the remaining chopped dill.

Borshch in a blender is something new to most of the Ukrainians where borhsch originally comes from. I do it for my kids only :) Ukraine has more than 50 varieties of borshch! There is one group on Facebook dedicated to the love of borshch, Borshch - I love it.

Based in London, Ontario, a veteran vegetarian for 23 years serves up a collection of delicious culinary creations from her kitchen, with an emphasis on spicy Indian dishes and whole foods. If you want to know what sensible vegetarians eat, Lisa's Kitchen is the place to be.